Transportinfo.org.uk - today's transport news in the uk, hand picked for you each morning

Friday, 02 August 2013

BBC News

• How German cars beat British motors - and kept going The UK car industry was once one of Germany's biggest competitors, now it has become one of its biggest assets, argues author Dominic Sandbrook. How did Germany accelerate away?
• Crossrail: Where is it in the list of 'big digs'? The tunnelling for Crossrail, London's new east-west rail network, is now in its most intense phase - and the scale of the engineering challenge is as jaw-dropping as the cost is eye-watering.
• Taunton bus gate fines raise more than £250k in eight months Taunton motorists have paid more than £250,000 in fines over the past eight months for using two bus gates.
• Fuel discount scheme may come to NIA fuel discount that applies to the Scottish islands and the Isles of Scilly could be extended to remote and rural parts of Northern Ireland.
• VIDEO: Can electric cars be works of art?BBC News visits an art dealer turned car maker, who sees a future of bespoke cars that are a work of art.
• A very big digThirty metres beneath the surface, London's Crossrail project is already in the pantheon of massive engineering feats.
• Airport contract sold for £433mThe contract to run Luton Airport is to change hands in a deal worth £433m, the Spanish holders announce.
• Road users warned over cycle eventLondoners are warned to plan to avoid road disruption during the biggest road cycling event the capital has seen.
• Exxon profits at lowest since 2010US oil giant Exxon Mobil reports its lowest quarterly profit in more than three years, as net income fell by 57% on the year before.

Financial Times

• Luton Airport swaps Spanish ownershipSpanish infrastructure groups play pass-the-parcel with Luton Airport as Abertis confirms the €502m sale of its majority stake to Aena consortium

The Herald

• Businesses welcome plan to extend island fuel rebate scheme BUSINESSES have welcomed moves which could see them pay less for petrol under UK Government plans to extend a fuel rebate scheme already in place in the Scottish islands.
• 'Common sense' urged over bus lane fines MOTORING groups have called for a "commonsense" approach to drivers being fined for travelling in bus lanes after it emerged that £11,000 worth of penalties are being paid each day in Scotland's largest city.

The Independent

• Drink-drive deaths soar by 25 per cent after decades of decline Nearly 300 people were killed in drink-drive accidents on Britain's roads in 2012, a rise of 25 per cent on the year before, the Department for Transport said yesterday.

The Telegraph

• Jump in drink-drive deaths as road safety publicity budget slashedThe number of drink-drive related deaths soared last year as the Government slashed its road safety advertising budget.    
• Shocking video of train drivers sleeping and reading a bookCCTV is released of conductors in Buenos Aires, sleeping, reading a book and checking their emails while driving trains.    
• Councils caught targeting motorists for parking cashMillions of motorists are being targeted by cash-strapped councils across the country, The Telegraph can disclose.    

Daily Express

• Transport Minister attacks critics of £37m electric car investment, saying 'Be patient!'TRANSPORT Minister Norman Baker today defended a Government drive to spend £37million on a national network of charge points for electric cars after figures showed many of the plug sockets are barely used.

Daily Record

• Workers at Scotland's last railway repair yard face wait for Government cash to save their jobs THE UK Government considers stepping in to help save jobs at Railcare in Glasgow after the firm went into administration.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Dismay as city car park charges profits set to double to £5.3 million City centre traders and shoppers reacted angrily after it was revelaed Bradford Council is forecast to make a £5.3 million-plus profit from car parking charges and fines in 2013/14 – up by more than £3m in a year, new figures show.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Call for fuel duty discounts to be extended across North Wales Anger after huge areas of region left out of Government tax break consultation

London Evening Standard

• Major commuter route shut for five hours after train hit a cow on the lineA busy London commuter route was shut for five hours last night after a train hit a cow on the line.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Top firm says HS2 will bring in skilled workers to Staffordshire Highly-skilled workers will be attracted to work in Staffordshire as a result of the HS2 high-speed rail line, one of the county’s biggest employers has said.

Yorkshire Post

• Councillor to stress HS2 benefits ONE of Yorkshire’s most senior politicians has been appointed to a new Government taskforce set up to ensure that the UK derives the maximum benefit from the new £50bn high-speed rail link between London and the North.

Blackpool Gazette

• FULL STORY: It’s a ‘no’ to capital rail linkRail chiefs, tourism bosses and business leaders across the Fylde coast today united in disappointment after plans to restore a direct train link between the resort and London were thrown out, branding the decision “appalling.”
• FULL STORY: It’s a ‘no’ to capital rail linkRail chiefs, tourism bosses and business leaders across the Fylde coast today united in disappointment after plans to restore a direct train link between the resort and London were thrown out, branding the decision “appalling.”

Bucks Free Press

• HS2 battle to go to Supreme Court AN appeal against the Government’s decision to proceed with the HS2 plan is being taken to the Supreme Court by Chiltern District Council along with two other authorities.

Carlisle News & Star

• Owner wants to demolish Whitehaven's former bus station Whitehaven's art deco-designed bus station looks set to bite the dust.

East Anglian Daily Times

• New figures show how rail passengers have taken offThe number of passengers using railways in Suffolk has increased by almost two and a half times since privatisation in 1997.

Plymouth Herald

• Go-ahead for new cycle link on disused Plymouth railway bridge A NEW pedestrian and cycle link on Laira Rail Bridge has been given the green light by Plymouth planners.

Other Regional Press

• 2012 LEGACY: Transport pros and cons following the Olympic games TENS of millions of pounds were spent on transport projects in the build up to the Olympics in Weymouth and Portland. But not all schemes have been welcomed as bringing a long term benefit to the borough - including replacing roundabouts with the £15.5m 'Olympic traffic lights'.

Global Rail News

• New Talgo trains arrive in OregonTwo new 13-car Talgo trainsets have arrived in Oregon, securing passenger services between Eugene and Portland. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to launch the new Series 8 passenger trains, which[...]

The Business Desk

• Appeal over Shrewsbury to London rail link decision rejected HOPES of reinstating a Shrewsbury to London train link have been dashed again.
• Finglands snapped up by First Group FIRST Manchester has acquired the Finglands bus business for £50,000.

Aviation Industry

• Customer service robots becoming a reality for airports and airlinesGeneva Airport recently trialled a mobile customer service robot in the baggage reclaim area.
• MAG plans to upgrade Stansted’s terminalNew owner expects to reverse Essex airport’s five-year slide in passenger numbers
• Spanish airports group to take over Luton airportCurrent owner Abertis sells UK airport to Aena for £433 million

Other News Sources

• Night bus service withdrawal sparks criticism The axing of a night bus service to a village has been slammed by a local councillor.